Trump runs for POTUS / Trumped Up! Part V

[acbytesla]

Wow, talk about mindlessly buying into the myth. JFK was an uber douchebag and a fraud. Almost certainly worse than Trump as a human being. He forced himself on a 19 year old intern in the White House and later coerced her into giving one of his friends a blow job in the swimming pool while he watched. He was weak and frail and dishonest, and his Daddy bought him everything, including the Presidency. His brothers were no better, although Bobby was probably the smart one at least. Trump has zero class, but that's more than JFK had. And at least Trump has done some legitimate work in his life.

Total nonsense. JFK served the nation proudly and was an officer in the Navy. He worked as a reporter and wrote 2 books, one if which won the Pulitzer Prize. He served in Congress and the Senate. Why England Slept is a good book about appeasement and Profiles in Courage is also excellent. Yes JFK was a womanizer who slept around on his wife AS DID Trump on both of his former wives.
JFK was charismatic and probably as good a political speaker as I have ever seen. Trump comes off as almost illiterate and the IQ of a moron.[/QUOTE]

 

[acbytesla]

Since when is saying "I think A" the same as "I know A"? I was asked what I think Trump would do, and I answered in good faith. For you to repackage that into some sort of smear against me is the extremely dishonest.

So what? Even to think you could guess what the Orange moron Would Do Is hubris. As he is more unpredictable than the roulette wheel.

That's a laugh. Aside from the fact that Trump almost certainly wouldn't have led Khruschev to believe that the US would do nothing about the Soviet Union installing missiles in Cuba, there was absolutely no chance the US would have been destroyed in a nuclear war back in 1962. The Soviets had a paltry nuclear capacity, relatively.

I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks.

I'm not sure what is worse, you're rewriting history to serve your absurd narrative or that you think having 20 million Americans killed to be acceptable. No, now I'm being ridiculous of course.

 

[Bob001]

I love how you guys try to portray this billionaire how unsuccessful he is, gosh, no one will do business with this guy. There is so many more who speak very highly of him, you're in denial and clearly not absorbing the reality that is his successful life. Your narrative is not what normal people see when they hear Trump. You didn't even know any of the negativity of some of his failings until he ran for president.

Nobody cared about his failings -- except his victims -- when he was just a private jerk. Now that he's asking us to entrust all our lives to his judgment, we're looking a little closer. And what is your actual evidence that he's a successful businessman? All we have are his own claims. For at least 20 years, much of his income has been from licensing his name to numerous enterprises that he has nothing else to do with. Serious New York real estate investors call him a minor player, if that. And the properties he does own are often heavily mortgaged. What has he actually produced or accomplished except marketing himself?

 

[acbytesla]

Nobody cared about his failings -- except his victims -- when he was just a private jerk. Now that he's asking us to entrust all our lives to his judgment, we're looking a little closer. And what is your actual evidence that he's a successful businessman? All we have are his own claims. For at least 20 years, much of his income has been from licensing his name to numerous enterprises that he has nothing else to do with. Serious New York real estate investors call him a minor player, if that. And the properties he does own are often heavily mortgaged. What has he actually produced or accomplished except marketing himself?

Logger watched The Apprentice on TV so he knows it must be true.

The more I learn about Trump the more I learn just how big of a sleaze ball liar he he is. Trump has for years publicly boasted how much he gives to charities. Well a Washington Post reporter digged through all of his boasts of magnanimous giving and found 311 in the last 8 years. But it turns out Trump only gave to 1 of those charities with his own money. The other 310 came from his own charity which he solicits donations for. The man has OPM down pat. I really want to see his taxes now cause he sounds like Scrooge on steroids.

You also have to give Trump credit for the sleazy way he hid his bribe to the Florida AG. Whoops!

 

[Ladewig]

The danger of a President Trump are precisely that the office has so little power to affect change on its own: for all his campaign promises, Trump would need the support of Congress that simply isn't there, not even from the party he is supposedly representing.

What will someone with a personality like Trump's do when you are caught in a system that frustrates your plans at every point?

I think he will rule by one executive order after another, one more short-sighted than the last. And yes, he will use the military as his goon squad around the world, just to show 'who's boss' when he knows that it is certainly not him when it comes to US politics.

Donald Trump has a plan for dealing with Congress. You will find it on the Issues page of his website.

Congress has not come together to work in the best interests of the American public for decades. Trump will put an end to that by (A) getting them all together in the same room, (B) using his exceptionally insightful ability to size up opponents and what they want, and (C) applying common sense.​

That's it. That is his entire plan to work with Congress.

It is such a strange blend of naïveté and willful ignorance.

 

[Stacko]

Donald admits his secret plan to defeat ISIS was BS and that he doesn't know as much as the generals.

“We are going to convey my top generals and give them a simple instruction," Trump told the crowd in Greenville, NC. "They will have 30 days to submit to the oval office. A plan for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS. We have no choice."

Why didn't anyone think of this before? He's also going to accomplish this and bringing Iran "to heel" without invading countries or occupying countries but still taking the oil.

He's not even hiding his contempt for his supporters intelligence anymore.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Well, Trump met this 5-star general (he can't remember the name) who told him that all global problems could be solved in a month.

 

[Firestone]

While Trump lies a lot, he sometimes tells the truth:

During a Republican debate last summer, Mr. Trump responded about his ability to curry favor with public officials when he was confronted with one of his own statements: “When you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.”

“You’d better believe it,” Mr. Trump responded. He added: “When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them two years later, three years later, I call them, they are there for me.”

According to The New York Times, he has been paying for playing for decades:
Donald Trump’s Donation Is His Latest Brush With Campaign Fund Rules

 

[Foolmewunz]

Well, Trump met this 5-star general (he can't remember the name) who told him that all global problems could be solved in a month.

We had a quiet news week here so I managed to do some research. It seems that these momentary inspirations hang out together. The "many people are saying", the "my African American", the upper-echelon Chicago cop, the concerned Latina mom, the Jewish guy, the local person from wherever he's speaking who came up to him earlier.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster's_Home_for_Imaginary_Friends

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I had no idea there were that many retired generals.

Trump's Unimpressive Support From Military Leaders

His campaign announced endorsements from 88 retired generals and admirals. That’s nice, but 500 backed Mitt Romney in 2012.

There are 500 living retired generals and admirals?

 

[Bob001]

Trump stiffs another contractor:

The USA Freedom Kids said in a newly filed lawsuit the Trump campaign broke verbal agreements for performances at two events and refused to pay even a $2,500 stipend for the group’s travel expenses.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...rls-sue-trump-campaign-for-stiffing-them.html
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/09/usa-freedom-kids-are-suing-donald-trump.html

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Trump stiffs another contractor:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...rls-sue-trump-campaign-for-stiffing-them.html
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/09/usa-freedom-kids-are-suing-donald-trump.html

Will someone please think of the children?

It's vital that these kids learn that everything can be fixed with a lawsuit.

 

[Bob001]

I had no idea there were that many retired generals.

Trump's Unimpressive Support From Military Leaders
There are 500 living retired generals and admirals?

There are about 1,000 active duty flag officers (one star and up) at any one time. Considering that they typically retire in their 50s, there would have to be several thousand living retired generals and admirals, many of them working for defense contractors.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebat...im-the-top-like-most-innovative-organizations

 

[erwinl]

I had no idea there were that many retired generals.

Trump's Unimpressive Support From Military Leaders
There are 500 living retired generals and admirals?

I think that is because the military, even generals, tend to retire at a relatively early age (60 or 61 I believe) and thus live longer in retirement.
I've just checked an, I hope, typical case of one man who retired when 61 and was a total of 10 years a general. WP. This is a man who reached the top of generalship and most lijkely will live for a long time to come (I hope for him).
As there is also a policy in the US armed forces of 'up or out' a lot of people wouldn't make that top position and have to retire earlier.

So yes.
With more than 300 active generals, I can imagine that the amount of living retired generals in the US is easily in the thousands.

Edit:
Ninja'd by Bob001. That'll teach me to more quickly research my facts.

 

[CapelDodger]

We had a quiet news week here so I managed to do some research. It seems that these momentary inspirations hang out together. The "many people are saying", the "my African American", the upper-echelon Chicago cop, the concerned Latina mom, the Jewish guy, the local person from wherever he's speaking who came up to him earlier.....

The letter from the NFL that the NFL didn't send ...

 

[Puppycow]

I had no idea there were that many retired generals.

Trump's Unimpressive Support From Military Leaders
There are 500 living retired generals and admirals?

Assuming you count one-stars and up (that's a brigadier general or rear admiral (lower half) or higher), I'm sure there's a lot more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_duty_United_States_four-star_officers#Statutory_limits

The total number of active duty general or flag officers is capped at 231 for the Army, 162 for the Navy, 198 for the Air Force, 61 for the Marine Corps.[4]

I did a little Googling to see who was on the lists, and the lists included retired Brigadier Generals and Rear Admirals as well as higher ranks. Some may even be military doctors for example, not combat officers. There's going to be lots of retired ones too because the military generally forces you to retire after 40 years or by age 66 at the latest (68 if the president makes an exception)

Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement. Four-star officers must retire after 40 years of service unless he or she is reappointed to grade to serve longer.[29] Four-star officers serving in the reserve active duty must retire after five years in grade or 40 years of service, whichever is later, unless he or she is reappointed to grade to serve longer.[30] Otherwise all general and flag officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday.[31] However, the Secretary of Defense can defer a four-star officer's retirement until the officer's 66th birthday[31] and the President can defer it until the officer's 68th birthday.[31]

ETA: You can see Romney's list here:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...-support-for-romney-in-powerful-full-page-ad/
And Trump's here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/09/06/us/politics/military-letter.html?_r=1

Trump's list is conveniently ordered by rank. Only four of them were 4-star officers.

 

[The Don]

Then your not in a highly competitive market.

What leads you to that ridiculous conclusion ? There are a lot of companies making very healthy profits in very competitive markets.

Not if you lost it all and your kids end up on the street.

The thing is that in a well run business, you try to anticipate where the risks are (in the case of my business it's the fallout from a messy Brexit) and try to take mitigating actions. In the case of my business we're building up a cash reserve which will allow us to give each permanent employee six months pay (in addition to their statutory redundancy) instead of maximising the returns for the directors.

Trump on the other hand crashes from disaster to disaster with apparently no contingency despite receiving clear and timely warnings from industry experts. Of course he knows better, presses on and the business goes under. Doesn't sound like the kind of guy you want in charge of a country.

 

[The Don]

First of all, bankruptcy doesn't mean that the creditors don't get paid in full. Often they do. Bankruptcy is a means of preserving value and distributing it fairly. Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in particular, is used to restructure a company and keep it operating. All of Trump's bankruptcies have gone through Chapter 11 and come out on the other side as still functioning businesses. Bankruptcy just provided a mechanism for distributing some or all of the ownership to the creditors through an ordered process with judicial oversight.

I'd like you to provide evidence of the fact that often in bankruptcies, creditors get paid in full. My experience, through companies I have worked for and with is that when a customer or supplier enters bankruptcy, it's very rare for unsecured creditors to get anything more than single digit percentages at best and even secured creditors get a fraction of what they are owed.

Second, it is almost a tautology that if a business is wound up such that its creditors have been paid in full, that the owners of the business have left value on the table. The equity value is equal to a call option on the enterprise value with a strike price equal to the value of the debt. Unwinding the business is equivalent to exercising the call option early, unless of course it is timed when there is no debt, which extinguishes option time value. It is usually better for the owners to sell the business to somebody else or to keep going. The main point is that the creditors are paid to take the downside risk of the company after the equity holders have taken their hit. Their protections are contractual, and to the extent the managers can extract value consistent with the contractual terms, then they should do so. In fact, they have a fiduciary obligation to do so for the owners.

You made a claim that 95% of businesses end in bankruptcy - I'd like to see you back this up. As I said, in my experience there are two usual ways for a business to finish up; to be purchased in full or in part by another business or to be wound up in an orderly fashion.

The vast majority of businesses are owned and operated by a single person. If I think of Martin the Handyman, Dave the Moleguy, Mike and Annie who used to own the wine shop in town or any of the dozens of IT contractors who have been through my doors over the decades then unless they screw up badly their businesses were or will be wound up in an orderly fashion when they decide that they don't want to work any more. They will pay the last bills, draw the last of their capital out of the company and then they and their accountant will shut the business down.

Even larger businesses in difficulty tend not to go bankrupt in my experience. Some do, many in high profile ways, but they seem to share a common trait - they are badly run and those managing them haven't made provision for choppy economic waters. Even where the business is completely done - good management allows shareholders to retrieve some value by selling off the fixed assets, intellectual property or brand value even if it is for a small percentage of its true value.

Unless you can provide some figures to back up your claim of "95% of businesses go bankrupt" then I think you are mistaken and Donald Trump is unusual in having quite so many businesses fail from under him.

 

[Ladewig]

We had a quiet news week here so I managed to do some research. It seems that these momentary inspirations hang out together. The "many people are saying", the "my African American", the upper-echelon Chicago cop, the concerned Latina mom, the Jewish guy, the local person from wherever he's speaking who came up to him earlier.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster's_Home_for_Imaginary_Friends

Add to the list the tens of thousands of people who congratulated him on foreseeing Orlando. That number includes all the people who woke up on a Sunday to learn that dozens had been killed in Orlando and decided: I need to get a conratulatory letter in Trump's hands within 24 hours.

“I had been receiving tens of thousands of tweets, literally tweets and calls and letters and everything. Because I’ve been the one that predicted it. And I’m the one that said what you should be doing. And I don’t want the credit.”

-Trump on the Monday morning talk programs.​

ETA
I just figured it out. Trump is Pinocchio but instead of his nose growing longer, his hair grows longer.

 

[Foolmewunz]

Add to the list the tens of thousands of people who congratulated him on foreseeing Orlando. That number includes all the people who woke up on a Sunday to learn that dozens had been killed in Orlando and decided: I need to get a conratulatory letter in Trump's hands within 24 hours.

“I had been receiving tens of thousands of tweets, literally tweets and calls and letters and everything. Because I’ve been the one that predicted it. And I’m the one that said what you should be doing. And I don’t want the credit.”

-Trump on the Monday morning talk programs.​

ETA
I just figured it out. Trump is Pinocchio but instead of his nose growing longer, his hair grows longer.

I think all politicians should be called out three times a year, just to keep them on their toes. Trump, more so than most because he uses his anecdotes of proof that he's right, not just personification to put a human touch to something.

Donald: Well, just this morning before I came here I was talking to a veteran latino LGBT steelworker Democrat brain surgeon who told me that he was really worried about Hillary's health.

Kelly: When was that? I mean it's only 8 a.m. and our cameraman has been with you since you left your suite.

Donald: Just this morning. A while ago on the way into the studio.

Kelly: Really? 'Cuz we have the footage of you walking in. Can we roll the tape? Is that him? No, that's Giuliani's body... we can't see his head 'cuz it's so far up your butt. So when was this conversation with this multi-demographic phantom?